The presumption is that all government records and meetings are open to the public. But there are some narrow exceptions to the laws, too.

For those who are trying to get information, as well as those responsible for giving information, it can get confusing. That's where Van Hollen and his staff come in.

This week is Sunshine Week, a national initiative to highlight the importance of open government. Van Hollen visited The Post-Crescent last week and talked about the state's laws and his office's involvement with them:

What are some common misconceptions about the state's open government laws?

Van Hollen said there aren't really misconceptions. The public expects openness from their government.

"With the public, the more transparency there is, the more content they are," he said. "Certainly, there's a public distrust. If there's a problem, people don't think government is open enough."

Are there certain areas of the laws that are particular problems?

"The biggest problem is that those people who are obligated to provide records and open meetings aren't educated to do it right," Van Hollen said. "Most of the problems are unintentional."

To that end, Van Hollen, like his predecessors as attorney general, has had the DOJ hold seminars around the state — both for the public and for public officials — to answer questions about the open records and open meetings laws and give people information.

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"We try to do as much as we can to educate," he said.

Last year, there were 19 seminars, which drew a total of more than 1,800 people.

For the first time, the DOJ held seminars via videoconference, including one that was specifically for law enforcement.

"Law enforcement is the area where there are the most exceptions to the law," Van Hollen said, so the seminar was particularly valuable.

Another area of concern is when meetings can be closed and what kind of information needs to be on meeting agendas.

"There are a lot of questions about open meetings and the thoroughness of posting notices," he said.

In all, Van Hollen said his department gets "an amazing number of requests" for opinions about open records and meetings situations.

Van Hollen noted that the laws are written somewhat broadly, so they often have to be interpreted to meet the specific circumstances of a situation.

"We'd like to look into a complete rewrite of the law," he said, "to update it to the technology of the age and apply it to at least some of the broad factual scenarios we encounter."

But he added that there's a big obstacle in the way — finding the resources to take it on.

"It would be a monumental effort," he said.

What do you think about legislation that would restrict access to the state's online court records?

Van Hollen is opposed to a bill that has received some attention recently that would limit the information placed on the system — called the Consolidated Court Automation Programs, or CCAP — and who would be able to see it.

"We're going to have some negatives and some abusers," he said. "But I've always had problems with exceptions making the rule. That's the case with CCAP."

Van Hollen noted that, while there are some instances in which those who have been acquitted or had charges dropped have been harmed in some way because the information is open to the public, there are many more advantages to the access. Most notably, he cited victims' ability to track their cases.

"To take away hundreds of thousands' ability to use the tool because of hundreds of cases, if that, is wrong," he said.

What do you think about a bill that would limit public access of 911 calls to transcripts, instead of a judge determining if the calls themselves can be released?

Though Van Hollen said he wasn't entirely familiar with the details of the bill, this would be one case in which he might side with the need for less openness.

"At some point, what the public gets out of it is less that what is gained by the exposure," he said.

He said his concern was for victims and the families who are under duress when they make calls, and the effect making the calls public would have on them.

"To me, you have to do an awful lot of convincing to revictimize a victim," he said.